Really, this isn't a 6 month vacation?

The title of this post may seem a bit redundant...I've probably mentioned that or made some similar comment in every post I've written. However, it still hasn't hit that I'm here for school. There are so many things to do and see in the city, and now with Easter break travel plans in full swing (Here I come New Zealand!), all I care about is planning those trips.

But now being in the 4th week of the semester now, I finally have to do work...meh. Of course, I'm trying to avoid it at all costs but realizing that I have 6 papers to get done before Easter break and 2 due the week after, this past weekend and this week are all about homework...I know, I'm so lame.

So anyway, since I'm currently working on writing papers and catching up on all my reading, what have I been up to the past few weeks? Well, besides going to class, here are some of the highlights:

Failed Beach Trip: Round 2
In my last post, I mentioned how we went to Brighton Beach for the day, which ended up being a fail when we got there and it was freezing cold. Anyway, two weekends ago, we decided to to attempt the beach again...this time going only 10-15 minutes outside of the city to St. Kilda. When we left RMIT Village, it was beautiful out...80 degrees sunny with not a cloud in the air. However, as we rode the tram to St. Kilda, the clouds rolled in. By the time we got off the tram, the sky was dark, the wind was blowing, and it dropped about 10-15 degrees. Then it started pouring. FAIL.

Calvin Harris
While not too many of my friends in the States share my love of techno, house, and trance music, two of my really good friends in Melbourne love it. After Joe and George bought their tickets for Calvin Harris (a DJ that I love), I knew I had to go too...and then I convinced Mike to come with us too despite not knowing who Calvin is or hearing any of his music.

 Joe, Mike, George, and me

The entire night was awesome. The venue was rather small (only fitting 1500 people) but was perfect for the show. Both of the openers were awesome (I don't know the first one but the second was Ruby Rose)...both were very enjoyable especially because you could go on the stage and dance right in front of them. I luckily was right in front of Ruby Rose when she was performing her set. When Calvin came out, the place went crazy. Despite not knowing most of the stuff he played, he was fantastic...better than I could have imagined. One of the highlights was when he performed his remix of Martin Solveig's Hello (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5QlBjdZxdA). Awesome.

Ruby Rose

 

Other enjoyable parts of the night included:

• doing multiple tequila shots (oh how I miss tequila) and demanding limes instead of the lemons from the bartender (seriously, who gives lemons with tequila?)
• meeting cougars - at some point, I started talking with a woman named Melissa who happened to be 41 years old. She was there with her sister who was 33 and had 2 kids and a few of her other friends; we didn't believe that they were that old as they looked pretty young until Melissa showed us her driver's license showing she was born in 1971.

Joe with Melissa

• Mike left early...and walked 5 miles home. George, Joe, and I left almost an hour after him and took a cab home and beat him home. I find this funny as he gave me tons of shit for my walk back to Lil' Tokyo in Fall09.

Taco Bill's
With so many of us from USC and a bunch of people from Cal and other California schools, there is a large addiction to Mexican food among us. We have been craving it. I have made quesadillas at least 4 times a week if not more. I miss guacamole and margaritas. After some discussion, we went on a quest to find a Mexican restaurant. After finding two options, we ended up going to Taco Bill's. While the food was sub-par compared to the Mexican food I am used to in LA (yes, La Barca is the best), at least finally I got a margarita. Unfortunately, it was not like home...I paid $30 for a margarita (luckily, it was a fishbowl size) and I got a free sombrero hat with it. I'm seriously missing La Barca right about now!

 Half of the crew at Taco Bill's

 With my empty fishbowl

St. Patty's Day
The only way to describe this night: typical Special K (for those of you who don't know what I am referencing, just ask me).

For St. Patty's Day, we decided just to go to Turf because it was pretty empty, had good deals on drinks, and is next door to where we live. In summary, I proceeded to buy several $10 pitchers of green beer and had my first Irish Car Bomb (not that I remember it). I then proceeded to spill all over the table (and Mike) and got kicked out of the bar. Let me mention that it was before midnight. Mike and I then went back to my apartment where he supervised me cooking brekky burritos (which I also don't remember).

So waking up Friday was not fun. I walk into my kitchen to find eggs everywhere, having no clue what had happened (although, I figured we cooked brekky burritos). I also then noticed I had like 20 FB notifications...which clearly meant I went on a FB commenting spree in my blackout state...something that is never okay. I also checked my texts and found out I became best friends with Lauren's roommate, Emily (which literally involves me being drunk and saying "we are gonna be best friends). I texted Lauren saying "Wow, i probably scared Emily", which Lauren responds to with "She says she was very flattered instead of being scared but at first she thought you were on drugs. But she thinks you are nice hahaha".

 Jamie, Lauren, me, and Emily

At the end of the night (i.e. before midnight)

 

To summarize: I had fun and was entertaining to everyone. Thus, typical Special K.

I just want it to be Easter Break
With break less than a month away, we had to decide where we were going to travel. After some debate of going to NZ or Cairnes/Whitsundays/Brisbane, we decided on NZ. Let me tell you that I am so glad we made that decision. I am stoked for it!!!!! Going to be the trip of a lifetime.

Here is our itinerary:
Wed, April 20 - depart at 6:35pm for Auckland, arrive at midnight (it's me, Mike, Christian, Rose, and Lauren)
Thurs, April 21 - drive to Rotorua where we will go zorbing, visit a Maori village, and hike along the geysers and hot springs; along the way, we will stop at the Shire (yes, I'm a Lord of the Rings dork. they also just started filming The Hobbit so maybe we will see it)
Fri, April 22 - Waitomo for the glow worm caves. Here's what I'll be doing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHRGo717Ny4&feature=player_embedded#at=114 Yes, you should be jealous
Sat, April 23 - fly to Christchurch - wait for Becca, Chris, and Kelli to arrive; drive down to Oamaru for the night
Sun, April 24 - spend part of the day in Oamaru, and then drive to Te Anua in Fiordland National Park
Mon, April 25 - Tues, April 26 - stay in Fiordland to do tons of hiking and kayaking and nature-y stuff
Wed, April 27 - Fri, April 29 - Queenstown! - bungee jumping, skydiving, and all the other crazy stuff as Queenstown is the Adventure Capital of the World
Sat, April 30 - Sun, May 1 - Glacier hiking at Fox Glacier/Franz Joseph Glacier
Mon, May 2 - fly back to Melbourne

For our Study week in May, still haven't decided on Cairnes/Great Barrier Reef/Whitsundays or Bali. I only have 2 finals and finals span June 4 - June 24 so I have tons of travel time there as well before I head back to LA on June 30.

Sydney
Also going to Sydney on Thurs. Be there til Mon. Party time with Thomas Davidson. Next post will be a Sydney post.